NOTES FROM THE ROAD

Around Centralia…

A quick loop around the empty coal town…

21 May 2017: Did some exploring in the abandoned town of Centralia, PA, where old roads were overgrown, and the sites of homes completely reclaimed by the brush. Once a vibrant coal town, it was abandoned after a fire started burning underground in 1962 and could not be extinguished. Though it is considered something of a “ghost town” there are a few in tact homes with people living in them. The rest of the town is just gone. The entire town was condemned and taken over by the state in 1992 and all the structures were demolished…

Fun with Georgia Mud…

On the trail in northern Georgia…

6 May 2017: Great opportunity to get some trail time in a right-hand drive Landrover out in the Georgia mud. We had chance to practice getting stuck and unstuck and do some more technical trails that combined mud ditches and winding steep climbs, as we drilled recovery skills in different scenarios…

THIS MONTH:
Teaching navigational skills and talking about international overlanding at the First Annual Wheelers Overland Adventure, May 18-21 at Anthracite Offroad Adventure Area (AOAA) in eastern Pennsylvania. The four-day overland camping and wheeling event is sponsored by Quadratec and Offroad Consulting, and brings together a diverse group of overlanders for trail runs, skills instruction, and networking opportunities in a festival atmosphere with onsite camping and optional activities the whole family can enjoy…

COMING UP SOON:Taking part in the Sustainable Travel Summit, June 1-3, sponsored by Immersion Travel Mag. This conference brings together diverse groups working to connect local communities with travelers or otherwise promote sustainable travel, as well as international organizations like the UNDP, in a focused forum to share ideas and experiences…

Attending the OPTIC 2017 conference on outdoor travel and wildlife photography in New York City, June 4-7. This four day imaging conference and trade show is sponsored by B&H, National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions…

Headed to Paris in late June to reconnect and catch up with good friends and favorite places…

ABOUT AOAAAOAA Trails is an extensive off-road trail system conveniently located in Eastern Pennsylvania. Named one of the top 10 destinations in the country for ATVs, full-size vehicles and dirt bikes, the park has hundreds of miles of diverse trails on 6,500 acres and top-notch facilities. The coal lands in lower Northumberland County are leased by AOAA for the purposes of actively managing a family-friendly motorized and non-motorized recreation facility. AOAA officially opened in May of 2014 and in addition to recreation, the property has many unique environmental features, rich mining history, and varied terrain.

Detailed series on a solo scouting journey into some of the remotest backcountry around Moab. The six day 450-mile off-pavement trip into the Maze district of the Canyonlands National Park offers insight into the challenges of expedition planning… [read]

Team USnomads is JoMarie Fecci (driver) and Isabelle Nikolic (navigator) driving a Jeep Wrangler across the Sahara. To find out more about Team USnomads and the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles, please visit our website: USnomads.org and join us as we embark on the most amazing adventure.